Illinois Basketball: Andre Curbelo has elevated his game for the Illini

Illinois basketball is laced with talent this season, and the future is bright for every single one of the players who don the Orange and Blue.

But as we continue to watch the Illini roll through the competition, I am continuing to realize that Andre Curbelo might end up having the brightest future out of all of the Illinois players on the court right now.

I know that is just opinion and you can’t see the future, but Curbelo is an extremely impressive player. His ability to get into the lane, get to the bucket, dish the ball and his handles is something I marvel at every time he steps foot on the court.

Efficiency has been something that has bit Curbelo in the butt a time or two during his young career, though. As a team, the Illini are pretty efficient. They average a 1.238 assist-to-turnover ratio each game, which is No. 44 in the nation. That means for each turnover the Illini cough up, they have 1.238 assists to make up for it.

Curbelo has been a big help to the ATR this season for the Orange and Blue. In just 30 games of college basketball experience, the talented guard has an ATR of 1.61. That isn’t bad considering there have been a few games in there where he was coughing up the ball at an extremely high rate.

Coming off the bench, Curbelo has been a huge asset to the Illinois basketball program. He has carved out his role with the team this season, and next year he will take over the full-time No. 1 guard duties after Ayo Dosunmu departs. But there is still some work left to do as a true freshman.

Illinois was looking good for a top-two seed in the NCAA tournament after they won two games against Nebraska and Wisconsin to finish out their February schedule. Without Ayo Dosunmu due to a facial injury he suffered in the Michigan State game, someone was going to need to step up in the toughest stretch of the season.

Entering March, Illinois had two top 10 games to round out the regular season. Plus they had to win three games in the Big Ten Tournament if they wanted to be crown the conference champion. Who stepped up big in place of Ayo? None other than Curbelo.

As previously mentioned, Curbelo has a 1.61 ATR this season, which is pretty solid. Since the month of March started, the superstar freshman has taken his game to another level.

Illinois has played six games since the start of March, and they have won every single game. This included two wins over top 10 teams in the regular season, a Big Ten title, and they are now advancing the second round of the NCAA tournament.

In the six wins, Curbelo has been integral in the success. He has averaged an ATR of 2.2 during this stretch, which means he has improved his efficiency when the competition has gotten tougher. His overall numbers have improved as well.

Curbelo has averaged 13.2 points, 4.8 rebounds and 3.7 assists per game during this same six-game stretch. When Illinois needed him the most, Curbelo stepped up in a big way. If you watched him play, you wouldn’t think this was his first season of college basketball. The kid looks like he has been doing this for years.

On Friday, Illinois advanced out of the first round of the NCAA tournament. Everyone played great, but a major reason the Illini were able to be in the position of the No. 1 seed was due to Curbelo taking his game to another level. He has been amazing for the Orange and Blue, and I can’t wait to see what he has in store for us the rest of the way.